The Bandwagon Leaves Promptly at 5:00pm

Nine weeks in the record books. Nine chapters complete in the novel “The Ballad of Necky McManning.” I wonder how it ends…

The Peyton Manning Bandwagon is picking up speed. If you’re going to jump on you should probably do it soon. You don’t want to wait too long only to jump on just before the surprising first round playoff loss. Anyway, Peyton Manning is back, baby! Seriously, I did not see this coming. Manning is crushing it. (And he’s doing it outdoors!) Manning having a career best year automatically qualifies for consideration as best season of all-time best. That’s how these guys roll. Brees, Brady, Rodgers (Roethlisberger?) and Manning are all capable of having a Top 10 of All Time kind of game any given Sunday. You know, 6 TD, 500 yards, something like that. I digress. Anyway, Manning is a mortal lock for Comeback Player of the Year. If the Broncos can win a first round bye and Necky keeps posting 300 yards and 2 TD a game he’ll earn legitimate MVP consideration. It will be close but this week’s game should help Manning pad his resume.

Broncos 42, Panthers 17.

Meanwhile, Antonio Cromartie is keeping the faith. I suppose it’s admirable in that “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?” kind of way. What else can he say, though? Should he quit like Mike Shanahan? Of course not! (Not even Mike Shanahan quit like Mike Shanahan.) Yes, it’s crazy to think the Jets would make the playoffs when they’re 3-5-0 and facing a road game in Seattle. They will most likely be 3-6-0 after this Sunday. Do they run the table to 10-6-0? Does that take a Wild Card spot? All shall be revealed beginning at 4:05pm (ET) this Sunday.

Seahawks 27, Jets 17.

This Sunday we’ll get an answer to the question, “Which team has got the worst mojo, the Cowboys or the Eagles?” Also, “Is either Tony Romo or Michael Vick relevant to their team’s future at the quarterback position?” Okay, we knew the answer to those questions already (it’s a tie, no). These are two seriously damaged teams. They have no ‘tude, no affect, no identity. Seriously, who are these guys? In this particular case, it may be worse being the home team. That sense of pessimistic hope peering into the abyss of impending doom in the home crowd is can be profoundly palpable.

Cowboys 24, Eagles 20.

We’re contractually obligated to refer to any match up like Houston and Chicago as a Possible Super Bowl Preview! As if the 7-1-0 Texans flipping the coin with the 7-1-0 Bears needs hype. Two great defenses. A long Sunday for Jay Cutler and Matt Schaub. I know it’s wrong but I can’t help loving Cutler to Marshall.

Bears 26, Texans 14.

The San Diego at Tampa Bay match up just misses qualifying as a Possible Super Bowl Preview! I guess because they’re both 4-4-0. The Chargers are just a game behind the Broncos but somehow it’s hard to picture them wining the AFC West. The Bucs have three teams ahead of them for an NFC Wild Card spot but somehow I give them a better shot than the Lions and I get the feeling Bucs HC Greg Schiano is looking to make a statement with this game.

Buccaneers 42, Chargers 23.

Local Pigskin Pundits and Bobbleheads are calling the rematch with Buffalo a trap game. Everyone expects New England to win this game, even Nate Silver. Okay, I’m not sure about the Nate Silver part. I’d actually feel better if that was true. Anyway, we New Englanders have a highly refined sense of doom. The better things are going, the worse we know they will turn out. Logic may tell us Belichick > Gailey, Brady > Fitzpatrick, Gronkowski > Hercules, but our gut isn’t listening. It’s running around in circles shouting “We’re all going to die!” It’s insisting the storm of ’78 was much worse than this. It’s demanding more vodka.

That may not be game related.

Patriots 45, Bills 13.